Locks



p 29, 1964 J. F. WELLEKENS 3,150,513

LOCKS Filed June 24, 1963 2 35 112 FIG.1.

\ 4 Fl 6 INVENTOR.

BY JOH/VF. WELLEKE/VS diiorngy United States Patent 3,150,513 LOCKS John F. Wellekens, New York, N.Y., assignor to Hotel Security Systems Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed June 24, 1963, Ser. No. 290,055 14 Claims. (Cl. 70370) This invention relates to locks and to a mounting means therefor, and has for one of its objects the provision of a lock having a construction which will prevent it from being readily broken open by unauthorized persons, yet will enable it to be drilled open when it becomes necessary because of the breakage of a key within the lock or for some other reason which prevents the lock from being opened in the normal manner by means of its key.

It is an object of the invention to provide a lock mounting having means by which the use of a drilling or cutting tool can be facilitated through coded indicating means With which an authorized worker or locksmith will be provided, and which will enable him to readily open the lock.

More particularly, the invention contemplates the provision of a divided retaining member or nut encircled by a ring or band, and used for retaining the lock cylinder in its operative position; and of adjustable means that is coded for selectively indicating the points at which the drilling should be done to cause the drill to rupture the ring or band, thereby freeing the parts of the nut and causing the nut to release the lock cylinder and permit its rotation or other movement required to free the lock from its locked position.

With these and other objects to be hereinafter set forth in view, I have devised the arrangement of parts to be described and more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein an illustrative embodiment of the invention is disclosed,

FIG. 1 is a sectional view through a lock and its mounting constructed according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the tamper-proof bushing and its inserts;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 33 of FIG. 1, looking in the directions, but with the notched and coded disk omitted;

FIG. 4 is a face View of the coded disk which designates the points at which the drilling can be done to open the lock;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of some of those parts of the lock which are involved in the drilling operation;

FIG. 6 is a face view of the bezel for the lock.

In the drawing, 14 indicates a part of a housing, casing, door or other closure plate to which the lock is applied. This element will be herein referred to as the door, but it will be understood that it can be any part to which the lock can be properly and usefully applied to perform its locking function. The lock is mounted in an opening 30 in the door 14, and is non-rotatively mounted therein. Non-rotatively mounted in the opening 30 is a sleeve or bushing 15, said sleeve or bushing having a forward annular flange 16, which fits within and is encircled by a face ring or bezel 17 of the shape disclosed and which fits flatly against the outer face of the door 14 as disclosed in FIG. 1.

The bushing or sleeve 15 and its contents constitute a tamper-proof protection device, the constructional details of which are shown and described in my co-pending patent application Serial No. 268,143, filed March 26, 1963. This bushing or sleeve is composed of hardened steel so that it is highly resistant to drilling and therefore drilling through it is rendered very difficult. On the other hand, the face ring or bezel 17 is composed of a metal 3,l5@,5l3 Patented Sept. 29, 1964 ice which can, for reasons to be explained, drilled through without difiiculty by the ordinary drilling tool.

The sleeve or bushing 15 contains a pair of half-round segments indicated respectively at 18 and 19, the same being confined within the sleeve 15 by a retaining ring 20 located in the sleeve at the rear thereof, and by the shoulder 21 at the front of the sleeve. These segments 18 and 19 are spaced apart to provide a key-hole opening or slot 22 between them, the segments being biased apart by means of one or more coil springs 23 operative against a closure plug 24 disposed in the key-hole opening but which can be thrust aside by the entry of the shank of a key inserted into the key-hole opening 22.

As described in detail in my co-pending application Serial No. 268,143, a key of the proper length when passed through the key-hole opening 22, will reach and enter into a key-hole 25 provided in the lock housing or cylinder 26 disposed at the rear of the sleeve 15 and axially aligned therewith and non-ro-tatively coupled to the sleeve 15. Thus, the lock as described herein requires a key of a special length to enable the shank of such key to pass through the sleeve 15 and enter into the lock housing or cylinder 26 and operate the conventional lock mechanism contained therein to actuate the bar 27 or other conventional element for the advance or retraction of the lock bolt.

The bushing or sleeve 15 is flattened at diametrically opposite points as indicated at 28 and 29, and the aperture 3% in the door 14 is of a shape to closely fit the shape of the bushing or sleeve 15, whereby the same is held against rotation within the opening Sil.

The bushing or sleeve 15 is provided with external threads 31 which threadably receive an internally-threaded two-piece nut 32, said nut having its two segments 32a and 32b respectively provided at one end with an inturned flange 33, which engages over the annular flange 50 on the lock casing or cylinder 26, thereby coupling the sleeve 15 and the lock casing 26 together in axial alignment, with the two key-holes 22 and 25 disposed in longitudinal registry so that the proper lengthy key shank, when entered through the key-hole 22 will reach and be received in the key-hole 25 and if such key is of the correct length and contour it will, when turned, operate the mechanism of the lock. In-terfitting parts are provided on the lock hous ing 26 and the bushing 15 to hold the lock housing against rotative movement relatively to the bushing.

The nut 32 is composed of two semi-cylindrical segments, indicated respectively at 32a and 32b in FIG. 3, the same being held together in cooperative relation around the bushing 15 and the lock casing 26 by means of encircling ring or band 35, and as long as said ring or band remains intact, the two parts 32a and 32b of the nut will remain in threaded engagement with the threads 31 on the bushing or sleeve 15 and will retain said bushing or sleeve and the locking casing 26 in coupled relation.

Clampingly held between the nut 32 and the rear surface of the door 14, is a plate in the form of a coded disk 36, shown in detail in FIG. 4. The disk 36 is composed of hardened steel so that it cannot be readily drilled through and it is provided with a central opening 37 enabling it to encircle the sleeve 15. The periphery of the disk is provided with similar, equally-spaced notches 3S, and the face of the disk is provided with code designations for these notches, such as the numerals 1 to 12 designating notches on one half of the disk and similar numerals designating the notches formed in the other half of it. In transverse alignment with the two diametrically-opposite notches designated by the code numeral 1 are holes 39 and 41 which holes are intended for the passage of a drill to permit the drill to reach and rupture the ring or band 35, causing said ring or band to become free of the nut 32 and resultantly permitting the two halves 32a and 32b of the nut 32 to separate, thus releasing the coupling engagement between the sleeve and the lock housing 36. When the release of the lock housing in the manner described, takes place, the lock housing can be pushed back and then bodily rotated to free its latch, and the door 14 thus opened.

The coded disk 36 can be rotatably adjusted to locate the holes 39 and 40 on lines positioned at various selected angles across the sleeve 15 or in other words, at twelve different positions as indicated by the code numerals on the disk. As shown in FIG. 4, the holes 39 and 40 are in the number 1 position, but by the rotative shift of the disk, the holes may be located at any one of the twelve positions designated by the code numerals. A workman authorized to open the lock because of a broken-off key in it or for some other reason which does not permit of the use of a key to open it, will be provided with information or with the code number indicating the position of the holes for the particular lock on which he is to work and by the use of a suitable template or jig placed at the front of the lock, he will drill through the bezel 17 at diametrically-opposite points where he knows that the holes 39 and 40 are located, and as indicated by the dotted lines 41 and 42 in FIG. 1, the drill passing through the holes 39 and 40 and then passing through the ring or band 35, rupturing the same and causing the parts thereof to fall apart, releasing the two halves or segments of the nut 32, causing such halves to separate and free the lock housing 26 which can then be pushed rearwardly and disengaged from the sleeve 15 and rotated to open the lock.

As above stated, the holes 39 and 40 can be positioned at any one of the twelve different positions and in oredr to effectively drill through to reach the band or ring 35 to rupture it, the particular position of these holes must be known to the workman. If he, or perhaps a thief, attempting to drill the lock open, tries to haphazardly drill through the bezel 17 and through the disk 36 at points disaligned from the holes 39 and 40, the drill on reaching the hardened steel disk 36, will become so dulled or perhaps broken, and thus it will not reach the ring or band 35 to rupture it. Therefore, only a person having knowledge of the code number of the particular position of the drill holes 39 and 40, and which position can be any one of twelve, can drill accurately, with the drill passing through the holes 39 and 40 to reach and rupture the retaining ring or band 32.

If an attempt is made to cut through the bezel 17 by means of a hollow or cylindrical cutter, difficulty in doing so will be encountered because of the fact that the bezel 17 is provided with a plurality of radiallyextending hardened pins 45 embedded in it and which can for example, be composed of such material as Stellite and which will so dull the cutting tool as to make the cutting through the ring 17 quite impossible. In suitably positioning the holes in the disk 36 by the rotative adjustment of the disk, the holes should, of course, be disaligned from the hardened pins. While four of these pins are shown, this number may be increased or decreased as required.

From the foregoing, the use and advantages of the lock and its improved mounting will be apparent. If a key of too short a length is inserted through the key-hole 22, the key will not reach the lock key-hole and hence when the key is turned, it will not affect the look but will merely rotate the segments 18 and 19 within the sleeve 15. A key of proper length and contour will pass through the sleeve 15, entering through the key-passage 22 thereof, and will reach and enter the key-hole 25 and when turned will operate the lock.

Should a key become broken off within the lock, or the lock become non-responsive to its key because of the internal breakage or displacement of one or more of 7 its internal parts, so that the lock must be opened by means other than a key, a workman provided with knowledge of the particular location of the holes 39 and 40 in the disk 36, can quickly drill through the bezel 17; through the door 14; through the holes 39 and 40 to drill through and thus fracture the band 35 to release the parts of the nut 32 and permit the lock cylinder 26 to be pushed in to free it from sleeve 15 and then turned. Any person attempting to drill through the bezel 17 without knowledge of the location of the holes 39 and 40 to permit the passage of the drill, will cause the drill to contact with the hardened disk 36, which will so strongly resist the passage of the drill that it will discourage or frustrate any attempt by an unauthorized person to drill the lock open.

To retain the disk 36 in any selected position of rotative adjustment, a pin 46 projecting from the back of the door 14, is provided to engage with any one of the notches 38.

The lock as herein shown is provided with a special tamper-proof construction disposed forwardly of the lock casing proper, but it will be understood that the parts 15, 18, 19, 23 and 24 might be eliminated if desired the lock casing being directed retained in place by the divided nut 32, so that the casing can be rotated by the fracture of the ring or band 35.

What I claim is:

1. A lock mounting comprising, a supporting element having an aperture within which a lock cylinder is fitted, a drill-penetrable bezel arranged around the cylinder on the outer side of the supporting element, a divided nut encircling the cylinder behind the element to hold the cylinder therein, a ring encircling the nut and holding the parts of the same together around the cylinder, said ring being axially aligned with the bezel so that a drilling tool driven through the bezel at spaced points thereon will break the ring and release the parts of the nuts and permit removal of the cylinder from the supporting element.

2. A lock mounting comprising, a door or similar support provided with an opening, a bushing fitted in said opening and presenting a front flange disposed at the front of the support, a bezel disposed around said flange, a lock cylinder at the back of the support, a two-part nut threadable on the bushing at the back of said support, said nut being effective to couple the cylinder to the bushing, a band encircling the nut and holding its parts together around the bushing, said band being axially aligned with the bezel, said bezel and the support being drill-penetrable so that a drill when driven through them will pass through the band to fracture the same and permit the separation of the parts of the nut and the disengagement of such parts from the bushing and thereby permit of the uncoupling of the lock cylinder from the bushing.

3. A look mounting comprising, a lock casing fitted in a support and clampingly held in place by a nut composed of a plurality of sections held together by an encircling ring, a disk arranged around the casing behind the support, said disk having holes axially aligned with the ring, whereby a drill driven through the support and passed through the holes will encounter and fracture the ring and thus cause the release and separation of the parts of the nut.

4. A look mounting as provided for in claim 3, wherein the disk is rotatively adjustable and selectively positionable to locate its holes at different locations while maintaining said holes axially aligned with the ring.

5. A look mounting comprising, a door or closure member provided with an opening, a bushing fitted within said opening, a drill-penetrable bezel arranged around the bushing on the outer side of the door, the bushing having a threaded rear part located at the back of the door, a divided nut threadable on the threaded rear part of the bushing, a disk clampingly held between the nut and the back of the door, said disk having a pair of holes, the nut being encircled by a retaining band acting to hold the parts of the nut in embraced relation around the bushing, the holes in the disk being axially aligned with the band, the disk being rotatively adjustable around the bushing to thereby locate its holes at various angular positions while always maintaining them horizontally aligned with the retaining band, whereby drilling through the bezel and through the holes will cause a drill to contact with the band and fracture it and permit the parts of the nut to become separated and released from the bushing, and a lock cylinder held at the back of the bushing and caused to be released therefrom when the parts of the nut are so separated.

6. A lock mounting as provided for in claim 5, wherein the lock cylinder has a key-hole, the bushing containing a pair of segments defining a key-hole between them, the latter key-hole being aligned with that in the lock cylinder, the segments being rotative in the bushing and being so rotative by a key inserted in the key-hole between them when said key is of insufiicient length to reach the key-hole of the lock cylinder.

7. A lock mounting comprising, a bushing mounted in a door or other enclosure, a nut surrounding the bushing at the rear of the door, the nut being divided into separable parts, an encircling member holding the parts of the nut together around the bushing, a lock cylinder held to the bushing by the nut, and concealed apertured guide means for directing the passage of a drill through the encircling member to thereby cause the drill to fracture said member to permit the release of the nut and the freedom of its parts from the bushing to cause separation of the lock cylinder from the bushing, said guide means directing the drilling operation only when the position of the apertures in said guide means is known to the driller.

8. A lock mounting as provided for in claim 7, wherein said guide means is a rotatively adjustable disk having a notched periphery, and the apertures in said disk being spaced holes through which a drill can be moved to contact with and drill through the encircling member.

9. A lock mounting as provided for in claim 8, wherein means is provided on the back of the door for engaging 6 in any one of the peripheral notches in the disk to thereby maintain the disk in any selected position to arrange its holes along any desired angular line extending across the bushing, while maintaining the holes aligned with the nut-encircling band.

10. A look mounting as provided for in claim 9, Wherein the notch-engaging means is a pin extending rearwardly from the back of the door.

11. A lock mounting comprising, a lock fitted in a door and presenting a forward part at the front of the door, a drill-penetrable bezel arranged around said forward part, a divided nut at the back of the door for holding the lock in the door, a drill-resistant plate disposed around the lock and held against the back of the door by the divided nut, means for holding the divided parts of the nut together, the drill-resistant plate having holes aligned with said means and through which a drill can be passed to contact with and break said means, but only when the drill operator knows the location of the said holes through which to pass the drill.

12. A lock mounting as provided for in claim 11, wherein the plate is in the form of a disk having a central opening and a notched edge, the notches in said edge being code-indicated, and the holes in the disk being arranged diametrically on opposite sides of the central opening.

13. In a lock mounting, a door having an opening in which a lock cylinder is fitted, said cylinder presenting a part on the front of the door, said part being surrounded by a ring-shaped bezel of drill-penetrable material, and a plurality of inserts of drill-resistant material embedded at spaced points in said bezel.

14. In a lock mounting a coded drill guide comprising a disk of drill-resistant metal having a notched peripheral edge, with the notches therein being code-indicated, and said disk having spaced holes through which a drill can be passed.

No references cited. 

1. A LOCK MOUNTING COMPRISING, A SUPPORTING ELEMENT HAVING AN APERTURE WITHIN WHICH A LOCK CYLINDER IS FITTED. A DRILL-PENETRABLE BEZEL ARRANGED AROUND THE CYLINDER ON THE OUTER SIDE OF THE SUPPORTING ELEMENT, A DIVIDED NUT ENCIRCLING THE CYLINDER BEHIND THE ELEMENT TO HOLD THE CYLINDER THEREIN, A RING ENCIRCLING THE NUT AND HOLDING THE PARTS OF THE SAME TOGETHER AROUND THE CYLINDER, SAID RING BEING AXIALLY ALIGNED WITH THE BEZEL SO THAT A DRILLING TOOL DRIVEN THROUGH THE BEZEL AT SPACED POINTS THEREON WILL BREAK THE RING AND RELEASE THE PARTS OF THE NUTS AND PERMIT REMOVAL OF THE CYLINDER FROM THE SUPPORTING ELEMENT. 